Medical Terminology Daily (MTD) is a blog sponsored by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc. as a service to the medical community. We post anatomical, medical or surgical terms, their meaning and usage, as well as biographical notes on anatomists, surgeons, and researchers through the ages. Be warned that some of the images used depict human anatomical specimens.
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Georg Eduard Von Rindfleisch
(1836 – 1908)
German pathologist and histologist of Bavarian nobility ancestry. Rindfleisch studied medicine in Würzburg, Berlin, and Heidelberg, earning his MD in 1859 with the thesis “De Vasorum Genesi” (on the generation of vessels) under the tutelage of Rudolf Virchow (1821 - 1902). He then continued as a assistant to Virchow in a newly founded institute in Berlin. He then moved to Breslau in 1861 as an assistant to Rudolf Heidenhain (1834–1897), becoming a professor of pathological anatomy. In 1865 he became full professor in Bonn and in 1874 in Würzburg, where a new pathological institute was built according to his design (completed in 1878), where he worked until his retirement in 1906.
He was the first to describe the inflammatory background of multiple sclerosis in 1863, when he noted that demyelinated lesions have in their center small vessels that are surrounded by a leukocyte inflammatory infiltrate.
After extensive investigations, he suspected an infectious origin of tuberculosis - even before Robert Koch's detection of the tuberculosis bacillus in 1892. Rindfleisch 's special achievement is the description of the morphologically conspicuous macrophages in typhoid inflammation. His distinction between myocardial infarction and myocarditis in 1890 is also of lasting importance.
Associated eponyms
"Rindfleisch's folds": Usually a single semilunar fold of the serous surface of the pericardium around the origin of the aorta. Also known as the plica semilunaris aortæ.
"Rindfleisch's cells": Historical (and obsolete) name for eosinophilic leukocytes.
Personal note: G. Rindfleisch’s book “Traité D' Histologie Pathologique” 2nd edition (1873) is now part of my library. This book was translated from German to French by Dr. Frédéric Gross (1844-1927) , Associate Professor of the Medicine Faculty in Nancy, France. The book is dedicated to Dr. Theodore Billroth (1829-1894), an important surgeon whose pioneering work on subtotal gastrectomies paved the way for today’s robotic bariatric surgery. Dr. Miranda.
Sources:
1. "Stedmans Medical Eponyms" Forbis, P.; Bartolucci, SL; 1998 Williams and Wilkins
2. "Rindfleisch, Georg Eduard von (bayerischer Adel?)" Deutsche Biographie
3. "The pathology of multiple sclerosis and its evolution" Lassmann H. (1999) Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 354 (1390): 1635–40.
4. “Traité D' Histologie Pathologique” G.E.
Rindfleisch 2nd Ed (1873) Ballieres et Fils. Paris, Translated by F Gross
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The word [malleolus] derives from the Latin word [malleus] meaning "hammer". Malleolus is a diminutive form of "malleus" therefore it mean "little hammer". The plural form of [malleolus] is [malleoli].
The term describes two inferior bony prominences found in the lateral and medial aspect of the ankle, the lateral and medial malleoli.
The medial malleolus is a knobby bony prominence of the tibia. It articulates with the talus bone and has a groove, the malleolar sulcus. The lateral malleolus is a bony prominence of the fibula.
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The [vertebral arch] is one of the components of a typical vertebra. It is a bony arch found posterior to the vertebral body, and it is composed by the pedicles, the vertebral laminae, and the root or base of the articular processes or zygapophyses.
The presence of the vertebral arch defines the vertebral foramen, a space that contains the spinal cord with its meninges, spinal arteries and venous plexuses, and epidural fat. The sum of all the vertebral foramina creates the vertebral canal.
Image property of: CAA.Inc. Photographer: David M. Klein
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The root term [-narc-] is a derived from the Greek [ναρκος] (narkos ), meaning “torpor” or “lethargic”. Initially it was used to denote numbness in an extremity, but eventually evolved to its modern meaning. It is used in medical word such as:
- Narcotic: A group of pharmaceuticals that numbs pain
- Narcosis: The suffix [-osis] means “condition”. A condition of generalized numbness or lethargicness
- Narcolepsy: The suffix [-lepsy]refers to a sudden onset or a seizure. Sudden numbness or lethargicness
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the pronunciation of the word.
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The coronary sinus is a venous structure that receives blood from the coronary circulation and returns it to the right atrium of the heart. It is found in the atrioventricular sulcus and receives all the veins of the heart (small, middle, great and oblique cardiac veins, and others), with the exception of some anterior cardiac veins that may empty directly into the right atrium. There are small venous valves at the point where most of these veins enter the coronary sinus.
Unlike most veins, the coronary sinus in the human has an evident layer of smooth muscle that may become the source of ectopic foci of atrial depolarization, causing atrial fibrillation.
The opening of the coronary sinus into the right atrium is called the "ostium of the coronary sinus".
There is discussion as to where the coronary sinus begins, as there is sometimes a gradual dilation of the great cardiac vein and a clear-cut boundary cannot be seen. Ludinghausen (1992) proposed to use as a boundary the point where the oblique vein of the left atrium (vein of Marshall) enters the coronary sinus. A this point there is a small valve called the "valve of Vieussens".
The ostium of the coronary sinus, where it empties into the right atrium, is characterized by the presence of a semilunar fold or band of tissue called the "valve of Thebesius". This valve may be absent (as in the image), it may be small, large, trabeculated, or cribriform. The presence of a large or cribriform valve of Thebesius may encumber the attempt at retrograde cardioplegia.
The image shows an human heart dissection, where the right atrium has been opened and the following structures exposed and labeled: Fossa ovalis, ostium of the coronary sinus, pectinate muscle of the atrial appendage, and the opening of the tricuspid valve.
Sources:
1. "Tratado de Anatomia Humana" Testut et Latarjet 8 Ed. 1931 Salvat Editores, Spain
2. "Gray's Anatomy" 38th British Ed. Churchill Livingstone 1995
3. "Myocardial coverage of the coronary sinus and related veins" Ludinghausen M, Ohmachi N, Boot C. (1992) Clin Anat 5:1-15
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[UPDATED] The word [pedicle] is a derivative from the Latin [pediculus] meaning “a small foot”, a “stem”, or a “stalk”. The Latin term [pediculus] is itself a derivative of [pes/pedis] meaning “foot”.
[Pedicle] is also used to denote structures that lie at the root of “foot” of an organ, as in the “renal pedicle” (an older anatomical term) or in the pedicle of a sessile tumor. It is also used in surgery, to denote the vascular pedicle or “stalk” of a free tissue graft.
Since a pedicle is also the “foot” of an arch, the term has also been used to denote the base of the vertebral arch. Thus explained, each vertebra has bilateral bony bridges between the vertebral body anteriorly and the laminae posteriorly. These are the vertebral pedicles, which form the lateral walls of the vertebral canal.
The vertebral pedicles have different characteristics (width, length, angulation) depending on their vertebral level. This is important for spine surgery where pedicle screws are used:
• Lumbar vertebra: has a thicker, wider pedicle that tends to angulate posterolaterally
• Thoracic vertebra: has a thinner pedicle that looks almost anteroposteriorly
• Cervical vertebra: the pedicle is very small and thin, angles quite laterally, and forms the medial border of the transverse foramina.
The accompanying image is an inferior view of a thoracic vertebra showing the location of the vertebral pedicles. Click on the image for a larger version.
Additional information: “Vertebral pedicle anatomy in relation to pedicle screw fixation: a cadaver study” Chaynes et al. Surg Rad Anat (2001) 23:2, 85-90
Image property of: CAA.Inc.. Photographer: D.M. Klein.
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The root terms [-stom-] and [-stoma-] both arise from the Greek word [στόμα] (st?ma) meaning “mouth” or “opening”. You can find them in medical terms such as:
- Stomatitis: The suffix [-itis] means inflammation. An inflammation of the mouth
- Stomatognathic: The root term [-gnath] means "jaw". Pertaining to the mouth and jaw
- Ileostomy: Creation of a permanent opening in the ileum for drainage purposes
- Anastomosis: Creation of a common opening between two hollow organs
The word [stoma] is also used as a stand-alone term with the same meaning, as in the creation of a stoma for surgical drainage.
Note: The links to Google Translate include an icon that will allow you to hear the pronunciation of the word.